Saturday, August 31, 2013

Saturday, August 31, 2013 - 2 comments

Share a Thought Saturday (1):



Link to introduction!!

Welcome to our first Share a Thought Saturday – SATS for short! I posted a brief synapsis earlier this week of what of SATS is and what I hope to accomplish from it. However, for those unfamiliar, I’ll post a link to the introduction below the SATS meme. 


Today’s thought comes from a fellow blogger over Books for Birds:

“Well, recently I was thinking about when you make a movie out of a book and it turns out badly versus coming out great.”

I for one think this is a awesome topic, one that I’ve pondered myself on numerous occasions. Now before we begin, I’m assuming that those of you who are reading this post also read books. Why else would you visit a book reviewer’s blog?

Ha, don’t answer that, I greatly appreciate any and all visitors!

So, continuing with this assumption, I also assume that you have you encountered what my fellow blogger is referring to. One very prominent example that comes to mind is Eragon. Now Eragon is one of my upmost favorite books and I was ecstatic when I heard it was undergoing production. However, when I finally saw the film I was downright upset. In my opinion, the movie was horrible. Granted, it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen Eragon, I cannot accurately enumerate all my grievances. Not to mention I wanted to put the experience out of mind as quickly as possible. However, one thing that irked me to no end, was the fact that Eragon – the main character - looked nothing like how I had imagined him.

This brings me to why I believe book-to-film adaptations tend to fail.  My reasoning is that by reading, we create our own internal “movie.” This movie is produced with the perfect cast, filmed at the perfect location, and cuts no corners with special effects. What you imagine is what you get. So, by the time we finish a book, we’ve experienced the best of the best. It’s no wonder why we are disappointed when going to the movie theater.

Am I saying that all book-to-film adaptions fail? No, certainly not. Two words, Harry Potter. The hype I’ve been hearing about TMI and THG seem to also suggest that they meet expectations. Have you seen them? If so, do you think they matched up with your internal version? Were you ultimately satisfied or disappointed with the final result?  

Monday, August 26, 2013

Monday, August 26, 2013 - 3 comments

Share a Thought Saturday!



Introducing “Share a Thought Saturday’s”!!!

Hey guys, I’ve been brainstorming ideas to try and get everyone more involved with providing feedback or just sharing their opinions in general. So, what I’ve come up with is “Share a Thought Saturday”!! I plan on offering up an idea or topic – one of my own or one of those submitted by my readers – and allowing a free for all discussion.

Got something on your mind?
Had a bad week and just want to throw it out there?
Have an idea or concept you would like feedback on?
Debate topic? Homework question?

It doesn’t matter what it is, if you want to share it, please feel free to do so. You can contact me via email thebookfeed@live.com , via Twitter @TheBookFeed_ , or by simply commenting on my blog. 

 Feel free to use SATS on your blogs as well! All I ask is that you link the above image back to The Book Feed. 

Hope to hear from you! 

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sunday, August 25, 2013 - , No comments

Degree of Guilt


Rating: 3.75 Stars
Version: Hardback
Author: Richard North Patterson

GoodReads Summary:
Mary Carelli, one of the most powerful women in TV journalism, is charged with the murder of Mark Ransom, America's most eminent novelist. Her attorney, Christopher Paget, sets out to shock the courtroom with revelations about Ransom as a twisted sexual predator. But as the trial unfolds, it is Paget who will be surprised...by Mary's secret motive for murder...by evidence that Mary is lying...by a woman prosecutor who believes Mary invented the story of rape...and by an enigmatic judge with an agenda of her own

A bit of background
I would like to include a bit of background about how I received this book before I launch into the review. My hometown library held a book sale, but by the time I found out, it was technically over. However, I decided to give them a visit and they graciously allowed me to peruse their selection of books for sale. I ended up purchasing this book along with a huge bag full for only TWO DOLLARS!! I was hesitant at first because this is book 2 of the Christopher Paget series, but it is a stand-alone novel.

Review:
I had to place Degree of Guilt between a 3 and 4 star rating because it was more than “just okay” but not as good as “really liked it”.  I seem to comment about this a lot, but the beginning was tremendously slow. After forcing myself to read ~150 pages, I ended up putting the book back on the shelf. Then a couple of weeks later I picked it back up and began where I left off.  The book eventually picked up pace and I was able to start looking forward to reading it.

The story follows Christopher Paget, a trial lawyer who has to represent his former ex-wife and son’s mother Mary Carelli, charged with murder. Mary’s defense is that she was raped and shot her attacker out of self-defense. The book had me a bit confused at the beginning, because it opens at the scene of the incident without describing who is talking or what happened to them. Christopher Paget is forced to represent Mary because he wants to minimize the amount of damage his son is going to endure – his mother is on trial for murder after all.   Paget’s dedication seemed a bit off to me, but the book takes you into the past and makes it explicitly clear as to why his decision is what it is. I don’t want to spoil the book, but I’ll just say that Mary and Paget’s relationship is very complicated for several reasons:

  •   A famous case at the US Senate they won.
  • A child born under strange – I can’t really find a word to suit what happened – circumstances.
  • Career altering lies
  • Their sons upbringing

Paget decides to argue the case at a probable cause hearing, hoping to get it dismissed before it makes it to trial. After hearing the case in full, I was a bit confused as to why he decided not to let the case go to trial. The prosecutor could not have met the burden of proof required for a beyond a reasonable doubt conviction. However, I think it was because the evidence he had did not appear in full until after the arraignment.

The evidence involves several other women who Ransom – Mary’s attacker – raped and abused. Ransom was obsessed with an actor who committed suicide and played out his fetishes with his victims. I was a little shocked at the vivid detail of the rapes; in fact not much is subdued in this book.

SPOILER – READ AT YOUR OWN DESCRETION
There were a few other surprises that shocked me. One was when Paget and Terri listened to Mary’s “missing” tape. It revealed that Paget was not Carlo’s father! The second occurred when Terri revealed that she was raped. It was not hard to guess, because the impact this case was having on her was apparent.
End Spoiler

Many of the characters I liked, such as: Terri, Sharpe, Paget, and Caroline. I respected Mary, but I’m not sure that I had a favorable opinion of her by the end. She was a very skilled and manipulative liar.


 Pretty Awesome Quote:
"For what Paget had learned from Carlo was that being a parent was not about ties of blood, any more than starting a family can assure love among its members. These bonds are ours to make, Paget knew; we define them, day by day, by who we choose to love and how we choose to love them. And, by these choices, define ourselves."

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Thursday, August 22, 2013 - , 1 comment

Mini Book Spree


Despite my previous post, I went out to my local used bookstore – a favorite of mine – and purchased a few novels. Here’s what I got:



  • I’ve already read Salems Lot, but it was on my Kindle and this was one was only 50 cent! So, I jumped on it.
  • Pelican Brief was another good deal, 10 cent!!! I currently own 3 or4 of Grisham’s other works, so I jumped on this one too.
  • I’ve wanted to read The Help, but never justified purchasing it until today. I ran across it at a measly $3.95 for the hardback version!
  • Finally, Queste by Angie Sage, is a book that just jumped out at me. I’ve only read the first two books from the Septimus Heap series and Queste is the 4th installment. So, I won’t be reading it until I’ve read the 3rd. However, It was only $4.95, which is way cheaper than any offers on Amazon.


Thursday, August 22, 2013 - 9 comments

To Borrow, or to Buy, That is the Question:


Hello everyone,


Today I want to pose a question to you: What is your opinion on borrowing a book versus purchasing a book? 

I myself have very mixed feelings. On one hand I really like to buy books and display them on my bookcase. In fact, I really have this vision of owning a room filled with books. Sort of like my own personal library. If you've ever read InkHeart, I'm envisioning something along the lines of Elinor's home, but not to the extent that it consumes the house. 

Despite wanting to own my own mini library, I have another very conflicting view that I battle when purchasing a book, which is wasting money. "WHAT!? A BOOK CANNOT BE A WASTE  OF MONEY, THAT'S BLASPHEMY!!" Woah, wait a second, calm down. There is no need to attack me with a barrage of hardbacks. The way I look at it is if my library has the book, why not just check it out and read it? Why do I need to purchase another copy, when I can get it for free at the library? Sure, I may want to reread it, but can't I just check it out again? I hear a lot of things such as "I'm bad at returning the books back on time" or "I'm very forgetful", but those don't apply to me. Some even suggest passing down their collection to their children. Well as of right now, I have no plans on having children and even if I do, who's to say they will have the same tastes as myself?  

On the other hand, I've already said I really like displaying the books I've read. Particularly the ones that I found most enjoyable. I just find it comforting to have a bookcase filled with books, I'm not sure why, but I just do. I've even debated about whether or not I should buy the Kindle version of the book versus the physical copy, but I guess that's a whole other debate. Maybe I'll post a discussion about that sometime in the near future, so be ready!

Just for clarification, I do justify buying books that are published recently. In most cases, the library will not have the have the book for a while and I simply don't want to wait weeks/months. This is especially true for the small town that I come from. Don't misunderstand me, I really enjoy our library, but I don't think it has the means to keep up with the vast number of newly published books. For one, they have to ensure they aren't wasting their budget acquiring books that no one will want to check out. So, I speculate they wait to see how the public reacts before deciding on if and when they should purchase said book. However, when I'm back on campus, it becomes extremely easy to justify purchasing books. 
  1. 1.  There are two very awesome used book stores within walking distance.
  2. 2. Our 10 story library only has technical books (one floor has some fiction, but it's not anything exciting).
  3. 3.  Going through the hassle of asking our library to obtain the book I want via another library is very time consuming and seems bothersome.
  4. 4. It's a big city and I hate driving in the traffic, so I'm not willing to venture out to locate a library.

So, I want to hear from you. What's your opinion or methods for justifying your purchases? If you mainly check out your books from the library, I still want to hear your opinion.  

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